Saturday, June 16, 2012

Meet my herb garden


One of the many perks about my new apartment is that it has lots of windows.  (There's even one in the closet!) So I was pysched to finally be able to grow plants in my apartment.  In this picture, from left to right we have oregano, basil, mint, and rosemary (I had to pot the rosemary separately because it didn't fit in the window box.)  I can't wait for them to grow enough so I can cook with them!  What's your favorite thing to do with fresh herbs?

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Weekend Waffles


Okay, so I know I said to expect a healthier and lighter Food Judicata.  This is not one of those posts. But one of the perks of moving into a new apartment is that you become re-acquainted with the kitchen appliances that you never think to use.  Hello again, waffle iron.  Nice to see you again, fondue pot.

So this morning, after J. woke up at the crack of dawn to play golf, (yes, golf.... at 6 AM), I woke up with the idea make use of my waffle iron.  J.  generally prefers savory breakfasts, bacon, eggs, etc., so today was an opportune time to make waffles.  So through my groggy, sleepy eyes this morning, I was googling waffle batter recipes.  I chose this one from Allrecipes because it only used one bowl and seemed pretty straightforward.  I cracked two eggs into a large bowl as the recipe called for, squinted at the instructions again, "Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy."

Oh.

I don't have a hand beater.  But not to be discouraged, back in college, we used to cream butter for cookies using plastic forks.  So I beat the eggs as fast as I could for until I got tired, which was probably about five minutes.

This looks fluffy enough, right?


Okay, I knew it wasn't enough, but hey, I was still pretty sleepy.  The first waffle was a bust, I forgot to spray the iron with cooking spray and one bite reminded me, that I forgot to add sugar.  (Did I mention that I was sleepy?)

One tablespoon of sugar and some cooking spray in the waffle iron later and I had pretty good waffles, given the circumstances.  I would have liked them to be a little fluffier next time (or perhaps invest in a hand blender).

Sunday, June 3, 2012

The New and Improved Food Judicata

After a seven-month hiatus, I have decided to return to the food blogosphere!  As you can see Food Judicata has a fresh new look, I am planning on some new changes that reflect some of the big changes in my life in the last seven months. In the past months I:

1) Lost twenty pounds - expect to see a healthier, lighter Food Judicata
2) Moved to a new city - look out for bits on local businesses and restaurants
3) Combined households with J., the boyfriend - expect to see more about family-style cooking
4) Got a new computer - I am not sure what this will mean for the blog yet, except that maybe I will be posting more frequently

These changes all mostly happened within the last two weeks (well, except for the 20 pound weight loss, of course!)

To kick of my return, here is a "recipe" (more of a method, than a recipe) to my Southwest Tuna Salad that I threw together for lunch today with J. As you can see, it uses mostly light and fresh ingredients, (except for the tuna), but the seasonings give it an extra punch of flavor.  


Southwest Tuna Salad

Ingredients
1 can Albacore tuna (no salt added, packed in water - I used Trader Joe's)
2 Tbs light mayonnaise
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
squeeze of fresh lime juice

Mix together these ingredients and lay on top of a bed of the following: 

Mixed Salad Greens
Corn 
Black beans
Roasted red pepper
Hard boiled eggs
Baby carrots

Finish with another squeeze of the lime and serve.  Makes about two servings